Thickness Measurement of Sn-Ag Hot Dip Coatings on Large Hadron Collider Superconducting Strands by Coulometry

Amperostatic coulometry was applied for the thickness measurement of Sn-Ag hot dip coatings, which comprise an extended Sn-Cu interdiffusion layer. Complementary measurements, notably weight loss, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and dynamic secondary ion mass spectroscopy were performed in order to obtain a better interpretation of the coulometry results. Based on the experimental results presented in this article, the three potential changes observed during coulometry measurements are ascribed to (i) the entire dissolution of pure Sn, (ii) the formation of a CuCl salt layer, and (iii) the surface passivation. The measurement of the pure Sn mass is well reproducible despite strong coating thickness variations detected by XRF. Several experimental problems, in particular, a coating undercutting, hamper the determination of the Sn mass in the intermetallic Sn-Cu layer. (C) 2004 The Electrochemical Society.